Kellock to take charge of GUINNESS PRO12 Final in Edinburgh

Former Glasgow Warriors captain and GUINNESS PRO12 Final Ambassador Al Kellock has today been appointed to referee this year’s GUINNESS PRO12 Final at BT Murrayfield. Having lifted the trophy with Glasgow Warriors less than 12 months ago, the former Scotland international second-row will once again be involved in the showpiece event on Saturday 28 May 2016. Kellock has followed the trend of retiring professionals who have moved into refereeing, such as former Warrior Mike Adamson and New Zealander Glen Jackson. Since retiring as a player last May, Kellock has undertaken rigorous fast-tracked training behind the scenes to become a referee and having passed all mandatory assessments, including a vigorous eye assessment at Specsavers, Kellock is now ready to take the whistle in professional matches. Having refereed at grassroots level over the last few months, Kellock is set to take charge of a number of GUINNESS PRO12 games over the next two months, across all four competing nations, ahead of the Final in May.Tickets for the GUINNESS PRO12 Final (Saturday 28 May) are available now from scottishrugby.org.GUINNESS PRO12 Final Referee, Al Kellock said: “I’m honoured to have been appointed referee for the GUINNESS PRO12 Final at BT Murrayfield in May. “It’s been a long, hard few months to get to this stage but I feel I’m now ready to give something back to the game and a competition which is so close to my heart. “I’ve been trying to referee games for the last 20 years and following my retirement as a player I felt this was the next logical step in my career. “My mentor Nigel Owens has been very supportive and encouraged me to pursue this new career move. On the pitch he has all the chat but hopefully one look from me will keep the players in order. GUINNESS PRO12 Referee, Nigel Owens said: “Whilst I’m disappointed to miss out on the Final, I couldn’t be happier for Al and I think he’s the perfect fit for this showpiece event.”It’s great to see retiring professionals stay in the game and give back to the sport and hopefully it’ll pave the way for others to follow suit.”GUINNESS PRO12 Tournament Director, David Jordan added: “We’re delighted to appoint Al Kellock referee for the GUINNESS PRO12 Final.”He is highly regarded in the game and as a former captain of the defending champions, he understands what it takes to perform at the highest level.”We have no doubt his professionalism as a player will translate into his new role as a match official.”NOTE: This was an April Fools joke – hope you weren’t caught out!